Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ – Get Rating) (TSE:CNQ) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.67.

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $55.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.57. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $44.45 and a 12 month high of $69.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.20 and its 200 day moving average is $57.33.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Rating) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.17). Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 20.63% and a return on equity of 29.39%. The company had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.04 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be issued a $0.664 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 40.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,235,475 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,493,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332,528 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 20,646,839 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,480 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,845,541 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,102,057,000 after acquiring an additional 4,897,414 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 17,233,139 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $953,143,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,898,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $935,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is an oil and natural gas production company, which engages in the exploration, development, marketing, and production of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Oil Sands Mining & Upgrading, Midstream & Refining, and Exploration & Production.